I'm really enjoying writing series aren't I? I realize that I have always been getting so many questions about cooking and food, meal planning, healthy eating, and I usually just answer them on text, email, or on Facebook. But I ought to share with all my readers so here you go. The series idea came to me when a group of friends and myself had an email thread discussion on a new-ish video put out by Dr. Michael Greger about Food Is Medicine. Obviously this has been a long-standing interest of mine and I didn't really label it until recently. It turns out, more people than I thought are ... read more
Cookbook Gift Guide: 2015
Here's my list of top recommended newly released cookbooks of the Fall/Winter. These have been highly anticipated and also in much of the cookbook-love press. I scour the web for stuff like this so I hope you enjoy reading the list! If you need a last-minute gift for anyone on your list who cooks, a cookbook can be delivered to your footstep within just a few days. Why not add one to your wish list too? You can check out last year's very specific cookbook guide if you haven't gotten them all yet. And here are the hot cookbooks of this year based on my perusal and overall ... read more
A Look at Metier Cook’s Supply
Upon first glance on the outside, Metier fits right into the South Austin neighborhood with its charming disposition in a quaint building on a busy street. Metier is a local culinary bookstore plus cookshop, propped next door to Lenoir, one of my favorite Austin restaurants and both establishments are owned by the same owners Todd Duplechan and Jessica Maher. You would wonder how all the goodies inside fit in this little neat house, but walking in the front door you see that everything is organized beautifully in different little areas of the house. You can easily spend more time here ... read more
The Very-Specific-Cookbook Gift Guide 2014
I am that person. The one you know or might know that has rows of cookbooks stacked, lined, strewn, marked, dog-eared, stained, eaten up. The pages are read, words have strike-throughs, headnotes are partially underlined, sidebars are starred and my colorful Le Pen marked scribble pervades. Therefore, I trust myself and hope you do too with what are the cookbooks to be had from the last few decades and for what specific purposes. But alas, that long list will take time. It will be a carefully curated list from my personal collection of tested cookbooks. In the meantime, I want to ... read more
GelPro Mat Giveaway
Note: This giveaway is sponsored by the GelPro company, however all opinions on my blog are my own and authored by me. Drumroll please! I'm hosting a giveaway on this blog and it's for a GelPro Elite Mat, courtesy of the GelPro company! I've had a GelPro mat for a couple of years in my old kitchen and in my remodeled kitchen. It's a squishy dream for your feet when slaving over a laborious stew or a curry. I love mine so much that I had another one on my list of "new purchases for new kitchen". I was waiting while trying to figure out if I wanted a red one or a matching black one. ... read more
Austin Community Cookbook Announcement
Last week, I went to the cookbook release party for the community cookbook for the Austin Food Bloggers Alliance. Over the course of more than a year, the team headed up by Statesman food writer Addie Broyles, has been working collaboratively on this gorgeous cookbook, completely made by its own members. I am proud to say that two of my recipes along with my photographs are published in the book, as well as a short essay on supper clubs that I co-authored with Addie Broyles. I was also a part of the editing team and we worked together to make a fine cookbook with truly tested recipes that ... read more
A Visitor’s (and Austinite’s) Guide to Austin Bakeries
You're here to explore this perfectly-sized town called Austin, known to be a fit city, one of the top in the nation in fact. You visit and you immediately see cyclists and pedestrians along its urban pathways. You see Lake Austin, and you wonder why it's called a lake, as it meanders around downtown and under beautiful bridges, gleaming in our Southern sunshine. You see a path of athletic joggers, hundreds of them, on any given day, keeping a pace alongside that "Lake" on a trail known as the Hike and Bike Trail. Yes, we're proud to be a healthy town. But c'mon. Everything in moderation ... read more
